Dryads
Vaellish (vaelfey) The entire forest of Eldera is known as Rathalia, the name of the dryadic city for a specific reason: these faun-like fey known as vaelfey have crafted their homes from the very trees and use spirit magic to constantly move them. There is no telling where the capital of Rathalia will be within the forest at any given moment. It changes based on seasons and solstices, to commemorate and honor the fallen hero of the dryads, Thalia. It is said that she was one with the trees and despised the idea of certain parts of the forest not belonging to her home. Thus, every solstice, the city of Rathalia changes location. The dryads of Rathalia are all connected to spirit, whom they refer to as the Sacred Mother. Since they are constantly surrounded by the lushest greenery in all of Eldera, Spirit's magic is constantly flowing around them. They harness this magic to bend the elements to their will, crafting their treehomes and communicating with the forest as a whole. They refer to their magic and spirituality as the anam, a unified name to refer to all living things (think of qi). Anáise (pronounced “''an-ay-shuh''”) is the official name of the Sacred Mother, but it is only ever invoked in dryadic rituals. Dryads can range in skin tone from natural pale pinks to deep earthy greens. Their horns resemble deer’s antlers or tree branches, and their complexions tend to be more dappled or freckled. Their large wide-set eyes make it easier for them to see through the dense forest. Thalia & the White Hunt There is a dryadic myth within the anam that follows the tale of Thalia, the one who unified the whole forest under one name. Back when the clans were innumerably separate peoples, groups of dryads of differing beliefs and cultures, each clan sent forth one hunter to participate in the White Hunt. This contest occurs every year during the warm solstice, when the Sacred Mother’s magic is running most wild and free. The dryads must hunt a magical creature known to them as the hartbán, a twisting amalgamation of roots and branches that resemble a stag, with great antlers of pure light. It is a sacred ritual of the anam, and many young hunters looking to make their mark on the forest volunteer for such an honor. Once the stag is brought down, the light of its antlers flows back into the forest and it is reborn next cycle. Thalia encountered the hartbán when she was out hunting one day with a friend. She felt marked by the event, and was immediately designated as her clan’s hunter for that cycle’s White Hunt. However, once she competed and tracked the stag, she and the other hunters found it to already be slain viciously, in such a way that it could not be revitalized by the forest. It was such a horrific act on the Sacred Mother that Thalia sought to discover the culprit. When she found it was a group of Nephos called the Cunning, she discovered the growing forces of the Nephos and feared for her people. She traveled to each of the clans and asked for their alliance against the Nephos, all the while training her spirit to understand the unified entity that was the forest itself. She became so powerful in this form of spirit magic that she could sense things occurring all the way on the other side of the forest; it was like the vital essence of the Sacred Mother flowed through her. Eventually Thalia was able to gather all of the Vaellish to oppose the Nephos, for her abilities with spirit magic were incredibly inspiring. However, as the Nephos launched their attack against the forest, it became clear that Thalia would need to approach Imperia for help. She did so and received the help of Imperians, stone giants, riverfolk, and shadowkin alike. This great battle against the Nephos would come to be known as the Great Nephostic War, and would be adopted into Cyclican scripture as well, with a few key changes. Nevertheless, Thalia succeeded in uniting the dryads, although with her dying breath she transferred her spirit into a tree that would serve as the center of the new unified realm of the dryads. This would also give her people ability to move the city whenever a threat was sensed within the forest. Thalia’s name lives on all throughout dryadic culture, the more notable instance being the name of the city, Rathalia. The river that courses through to Spirit’s Cradle is called the River Thalia, and many dryads invoke her name almost as a savior in rituals. Cyclicans tend to feel somewhat uncomfortable with what they refer to as “idol worship,” especially since their tales of Izac have him as the one who led the forces against the Nephos. Now, Rathalia is the grandest city in the entire forest with many diverse clans of dryads living among it. The Tree of Anam that contains Thalia’s life essence is always at the center of the city, no matter where it roams. There are still a few outlying clans that do not seem to associate with Rathalia, but it is unclear whether or not they know the greater city even exists. They are few and far between. Magic & The Anam Magic and religion are linked to the dryads. The major school of magic found among dryads is spirit magic. Spirit druids tend to look somewhat like benders, using body movements and motion to bend the elements of the world to their will. Rathalian druids tend to bend the wood itself, resulting in the elusive nature of the city. They see it less of a forceful taking of the anam and more like playing the role of a willing vessel. When the Sacred Mother’s burning soul was ripped from her body, she lost the ability to utilize her magic without conduits, and that is how the dryads think of themselves and all of feykind. They tend to look at the time mages of Imperia with disappointment, seeing the forceful experiments of time as a misuse of the anam. Many Rathalian druids will reach their magical talents to other elements, such as water and wind. These assist with growing crops and maintaining the peaceful climates of the forest. Sometimes powerful druids will seek to control the weather, although this can be risky and is seen by some followers of the anam as bleeding into time magic manipulation. There are several roles taken up by dryadic druids: * Clankeeper (coimeádaí an clan) - This is the leader of Rathalia; in Vaellish the title is shortened to “Adaí.” The clankeeper holds up the Law of Anam, communing with the Tree of Anam whenever they require counsel from the Sacred Mother or Thalia. * Woodspeaker (cainteoir adhmaid) - Woodspeakers are the monks or priests of the anam, and have devoted their lives to feeling the flow of the forest. The Sacred Mother’s essence flows through the most practiced of these individuals. Thalia was the first woodspeaker. * Dreamreader (léitheoir bréige) - As the title sounds, dreamreaders interpret the anam through dreams and visions. * Whitehunter (sealgaire bán) - Winners of the White Hunt, these dryads fill the role of hunters and warriors among Rathalia. Rathalian Culture All dryads practice some form of spirit magic, but those without druidic roles utilize it less. They take up more commonplace roles such as farming, crafting weapons and furniture, making clothes from plant fibers and animal hides; for all intents and purposes, dryads are much like any other kind of fey. They rarely leave the confines of the forest however, and will even more rarely practice other schools of magic. There are some dryads who go so far as to refuse acquaintanceship with time mages or death warlocks, but they are seen by others as extremists. The city of Rathalia is incredibly vast, with many districts wrapped around the massive trunks of máthaircrainn, or “mother trees.” The streets are carved into the trunks of these trees, spiraling upward with tiny lights of homes built into the thick bark. Most wooden tools and weapons are made from mother tree bark, which is very dark in color. There are certain clans of dryads that live outside of the Rathalian city, but they are rarely spoken of and seldom seen. One clan refuses to eat animal flesh, for they believe all creatures with heartbeats as part of the anam. Another clan sees no difference between animal and fey, and thus will partake in cannibalism as a way, in their minds, to honor the spirit of the anam. It is also believed by some cityfolk that there are clans of dryads who have forsaken the Sacred Mother entirely and have taken up kinship with the Nephos, treating them as gods made flesh (as they sometimes would believe themselves to be). These cults are obviously shunned from Rathalia, although there have been times when people would start to mysteriously vanish into hidden parts of the forest, seemingly for no reason. It is suspected that these cults are to blame.